Cool Hush

Imagine, if you can, a shy skinny young girl growing up in a small southern patriarchal town in the 1960s and 70s. All she wants is peace, love, normality, and freedom to dream and be who she wants to be. She also wants her mother and siblings to be safe and free from harm. When her alcoholic father-a member of the local KKK-beats the family into submission and demands silence about his ugly secret deeds, everyone is too frightened to cry out for help. The father expects nothing less than total submission from them, ensuring himself full control. He will get whatever he wants, whatever the cost. Will the decades of patriarchal abuse torment each family member to the point of no return? Who will survive, and who won't? These riveting memoirs deliver a real-life glimpse into a society that tolerates, enables, and encourages patriarchal domination and all that goes with it. The problems that domino from the oppression include rage, abuse, crime, and mental illness, among other critical issues. Yet, embedded within the monster machine are women who are born leaders, fighters, and survivors. These are the warriors the beast fears most. Rather than keeping their power to themselves, they help and encourage other women to rise up and fight. Their revolt clogs the cogwheels and gears, causing the tyrants and whip-crackers to panic and leap into vengeance mode. The bitter despots vow never to stop until every last woman warrior is destroyed. Their existence and way of life depend upon it. But will the survivors go away? Will their voices fall dead at the feet of the cool hush?